Ultimate Comics Captain America #1Review

Following closely on the heels of Ultimate Comics Thor, Captain America is the newest Ultimate hero to receive a solo mini-series. And just as Thor inducted Jonathan Hickman into the Ultimate Universe, Ultimate Comics Captain America does the same for Jason Aaron. Unfortunately, the results aren't quite so successful. Despite the alternate universe setting, this series doesn't do much to distinguish itself among the many other Cap stories flooding the market lately.

This mini-series adds a new foe to Ultimate Cap's rogues gallery. This villain has been billed as the forgotten Captain America of the Vietnam War, and form the way his face remains shrouded through most of the issue, it's clear his is a face fans will recognize. The problem with this premise is that it hits too many of the same beats Mark Millar covered in the first volume of Ultimate Comics Avengers. Once again, a new foe arrives on the scene whose strength and skills outmatch Cap's, and whose origins are tied to Cap's own. Suffice it to say, Aaron is going to need to deliver a few curve balls if this series is going to remain interesting even for four issues.

One area Aaron would do well to focus on is fleshing out Steve's personality a bit. The central flaw with this version of the character is that he's very two-dimensional. He's not a very nice fellow - "Do you think this "A" on my forehead stands for France?" and all that. And while that's generally fine when Cap is functioning as part of a team dynamic, it becomes a thornier issue when he becomes the star of is own book. So far, Aaron does little to expand upon Ultimate Cap's character. He's still a xenophobic bully with a killer right hook and an unbreakable shield. Again, this book demands more of its protagonist than that. The villain fares somewhat better so far, though the story only begins to shed light on his motivations by the end of this issue.

So far, Ron Garney serves as the main appeal with Ultimate Comics Captain America. Garney proved to be an excellent companion for Aaron on their Wolverine stories, and the relationship continues undiminished here. If anything, Garney is in finer form than ever. His style was defined by its lack of inks and its resulting sketchy quality on Wolverine: Weapon X. While not without its merits, it's good to see that style abandoned for a more traditional look. The heavier blacks lend more depth to Garney's pencils. His storytelling is effective in the book's many fight scenes, though occasionally his panels are a little small for their own good.

Ultimate Comics Captain America has a long way to go before it can stand tall among the better Ultimate projects of the past decade. Hopefully later issues will prove that the book was just warming up in this first installment.